Monday, Day 3, UNE, Biddeford, ME 9:00 AM
Greetings fellow cyclists!
Well, the riders are out on the route (Including the one who overslept, and hit the road at 8:45, I just had the best shower of my life, and I’m out of here.
Today we head west, and away from the sanctity of the seacoast (Which was built at pretty close to sea level) and into the mountains, which are markedly higher in elevation.
The riders have a 2 hour head start on me, so I’ve got to run!
Keep the wind at your back, and the downhills in front of you,
GearMan

Sunday, 10:48 PM
Hiya sports fans!
Well, our two day riders achieved their personal adventure today, and with apologies to all for my delay, were ferried back to the starting line… I took a bit longer then planned to secure their bikes, to ensure that none would be scratched or damaged in transit- tying them together handlebar to seat, so that no damage could happen, and securing them to the walls of the tractor trailer. A tractor trailer is made to carry weight, not to give a nice, soft cushy ride- so since the protection and support of my riders is number one, the protection of their belongings runs a close second.
As of this writing, I’m confident that most two day riders are secure in their own beds, (With the obvious exception being the crew heading back to MD, to be at work tomorrow, and beautiful women from New Jersey- Safe trip guys!) getting some well earned rest, and in their own berth, no less!
Our 7 day riders lie safely ensconced within the hallowed halls of the University of New England… When your friend or loved one arises in the morning, their experience will be MY responsibility, and I will do everything I can to make it all that it can be.
They are MY riders, and they will have what they need.
Tell me what you need, and you will have it- So sayeth the Gearman.
I REALLY need sleep!
More soon!
See you in the AM~

11:41 AM Sunday, Day 2, University of New England, Biddeford, ME
Hi gang,
I just arrived in the Gear truck a few minutes ago, and figure I have about 30 minutes before the front group of riders arrive. They’re running roughly a 20 MPH pace, and riding hard. It’s a beautiful 80F with a nice breeze, that hopefully won’t end up as a headwind.
I have much prep work to do before they start arriving, more to come soon.
Keep the wind at your back and the downhills in front of you.
GearMan

Saturday July 10th, 11:01 PM University of New Hampshire, Durham NH-
Howdy sports fans!
We’re here, we’re real, DEAL WITH IT!
Our merry band of 150 (Less volunteers and staff) powered through the roads of MA and NH to arrive like a delayed horde of locusts on the southwestern corner of the UNH campus. We ran in to a few spots where the weather got a bit hairy- a couple of times featuring breif periods of rain, lightning and hail, but thankfully, those blew through quickly, and we were able to resume once the lightning ended.
It WAS in fact, rain… but it was a nice, warm rain (Except for the first 10 minutes or so) that didn’t wreck your day, but merely became a part of it… Man communing with nature kind of thing…
Anyhow, everyone got here (Including the ones we were trying to lose), all are fed, most are in bed and asleep to rest up for tomorrows great adventure!
It’s at this point that I begin to feel a bit of sadness for the two day, 150 mile riders- They will push all day towards their goal, and will achieve it- Only to do exactly what I did 16 loong years ago: Look out the bus window at the smiling, waving people wishing you a good trip home, and safe passage until next year…
And finding yourself wishing you were one of those waving, as opposed to one of those leaving.

More in the Morning, I have to do the daily info cards, per contractual agreement with one of my sponsors, before I can go to bed tonight…

Check back tomorrow, more fun to follow!

Keep the wind at your back, and the downhills in front of you,
GearMan.

10:30 PM, Red Roof Inn, Woburn, MA
Hiya Gang,
I spent the entire day two hours behind schedule, and it carried though all the way to the end… I’ve pretty much sorted out all the different deliveries of supples, and kind of have them seperated out evenly among the three rest stops- We’ll see how it works out tomorrow.
There were several groups that headed over to the Mexican restaurant next door for the “meet and greet” but it appears that some groups missed other groups- It’s not a big place, but I can understand how that would happen. I was seated at a table of 10, on the first table on the left insidethe door, and missed other riders coming in- so it’s possible.
We’re SO AMPED UP to get going that you can taste it in the air.
We’re off on a great week, and a great adventure, with great friends.
BRING IT ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Keep the wind at your back, and the downhills in front of you.
GearMan

Bonus points to all of you who get the song reference.

Hiya Kids!
Well, “Soon” is rapidly becoming “Now”, and while many of you are either in, or are about to be in transit, SOME of you have already arrived- For those who will be staying at the Red Roof or Hampton Inn, we have a little unofficial “Meet and Greet” at the Mexican Restaurant right next door to the Red Roof (Within sight of the Hampton Inn) that starts at roughly 8:00 PM, after the advance Registration at Parker Chomerics ends.
We do a little extra “Carbo-Loading” (Liquid form) after the pasta dinner, and have some fun and laughs (And great munchies) as we get to know each other better, as well as welcome those who arrived too late to make the advanced registration/pasta dinner… We won’t be closing the place, but we’ll be hanging out for a little while.
For veterans, wear an old NEC T-Shirt, for newcomers, wear a cycling themed T-Shirt, or put a couple hours of use to the one we just gave you… It helps us identify each other, break the ice, and get the official “Howdy-Doodies” out of the way in a fun, relaxed, social setting.

We have built it.
You are coming.
You’re going to wish it didn’t have to end.

See ya soon!
GearMan

The route is (more or less) finished, and I got enough information to finish the relevant maps.

Up above on this (and every other page) look for a “2010″. Click that (or click here) and you’ll get all of the mapping information you could possibly want. You’ll notice that some of this year has changed (particularly Day 7).  On that map is a pretty sucky Google map. But there are now all sorts of Delorme maps. Here’s what they mean:

• Overview : A one-page glance at that day’s route.
• Profile : A profile (elevation) map of that day
• Cue Sheet : Turn-by-turn directions (which some people call “Trip-Tiks” but that’s a ® of AAA, so they’re properly called cue sheets).
• Travel Package : a combination of overview and cue sheets with about five miles of the route per page.
• Turn Details : a close-up view of each turn along the route.
• Strip Maps : a “forward is up” view of the route, in a five-mile increment per page (all other maps are “north is up”)
• gpx : a gpx file for downloading into a Garmen or Garmen-compatible GPS device.

Obviously, the travel package, and turn details, and strip maps are the largest files.

Times on the cue sheets are given assuming a speed of 15 mph. Individual rider speeds vary widely, but if you want to come out and show your support, you can plan your day using those times. We normally start around 8:00 am. Longer days (read: day 4) start earlier; shorter days (read: day 5) start later. We’ll try to post info here specific to the day.

Have fun!

Warning:

The route is constantly under revision and can change even on the day of the  ride because of road closures, construction, or any number of other reasons. The cue sheet you get at the beginning of the day and any last-minute changes on the gear truck sign board take precedence over anything you see here.

Hi folks,

Less than 100 hours to go until we roll out from Chomerics in Woburn on the 2010 New England Classic!

For those of you who are new, or veterans that don’t remember all the details, you can get a close up look at a very close approximation of our 2010 route on Google Maps created by webmaster extraordinaire Todd Davis. Think of any last-minute route changes as surprises brought to you by highway departments around New England.

Just click on 2010 in the green band above and you’ll get the route map along with peeks at overview maps of each day, a profile of the terrain for each day and sample cue sheets for each day.

Pretty soon you’ll be seeing it all up close and personal so start hydrating now.

For those of you who can make it, see you at Friday night’s registration and dinner, (i.e. carbo-loading session). If not, see you bright and early Saturday.

Tim

Like so many other cogs in a successful New England Classic Event, the road – navigational marking is crucial to a safe, enjoyable, and accomplished ride.

The volunteers who lay down these signs are themselves riders. This is of great advantage to the NEC cyclists as the quality and effectiveness is influenced by a rider’s perspective. From personal experience (wife Linda and I have marked Day 6 for several years) – NEC road marking can be a dangerous endeavor. Volunteer roadmarkers are a brave and marginally crazy crowd ( not so dissimilar to the rest of our riding family).

Road marking is a balance between effective communication and a level of respect for the owners of the roads and local scenery.

Road – travel – navigational signs, take many forms. The visual Dan Henry’s originate back in the early 1900’s as a cycling cue for directional travel. Other similar forms of visual signage exist in hiking trails, animal trails, and many other recreational trial markings. If you follow the signs: (1) you will follow the same route everyone else did (2) the caretakers and colleagues will know where you should be (3) you won’t add any mileage to the already long day.

The riders manual gives you the basics. The exact guidelines may vary depending on the road you are on, the town / city / state you are in, and the level of perceived safety for that area.
Don’t turn unless at least one sign tells you to. If you make a turn and don’t see at least one confirming sign – you made the wrong turn. There is nearly always at least one confirming sign after a major intersection. On a straight section – if you don’t see a confirming sign every 2 – 3 miles, stop to confirm direction (one exception would be Day 4 which is 90 +/- miles of Rt 302). Common Sense.

Emergency Numbers are on the Trip Tiks. Don’t hesitate to use them.
The future for the Event’s Navigational markings is fluid … changes may be in the wind.
Lastly – Continuous Improvement is never ending … if you have any creative / innovative suggestions please share them with the team thru Ryan Williams rwilliams@diabetes.org.